Method of capping bottles



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METHOD OF CAPPING BOTTLES Filed Nov. 1926 M y g 4 BY L W Patented Feb. 17, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ADOLIH T. LIPIPOLD, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO CHERRY-BURRELL CORPORATION. OF CEDAR RAPIDS. IOWA, A CORPORA- TION OF DELAWARE METHOD OF CAPPING BOTTLES Application filed November 26, 1926. Serial No; 150,671.

This invention relates to improvements in methods of capping bottles.

The primary object of this invention is to provide means for applying sanitary caps to 6 milk bottles and similar receptacles, said sanitary caps being supplemental to the milk retaining cap disks and of such a character as to provide a hermetical seal which will effectually exclude impurities from a. cap disk 10 and the disk receiving portion of the mouth of the bottle and prevent access to the contents Without destroying the integrity of the cap in a manner to indicate the fact that the cap has been removed.

Further objects of this invention are to provide means for applying supplemental caps to a milk bottle or similar receptacle handily, quickly and with uniformly good job results; to provide means for molding a sanitary cap i upon and about the bead at the mouth of a bottle and into engagement with-the neck in such a manner as to prevent removal without fracture; to provide means for applying supplemental caps to the mouths of bottles and similar receptacles in a manner to fill all rccesses and provide a smooth unbroken and impervious covering for all portions of the bottle above the neck regardless of irregularities or variations of contour in the bottles to 3( be successively capped; to provide means whereby supplemental caps may be applied to bottles and similar receptacles while the capping material is in a plastic or semi-plastic condition, whereby absolute conformity may be secured and whereby removal of the cap without rupture is rendered impossible.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in vertical section, of the upper portion of a bottle provided with my improved cap.

'Figure 2 is a view of a bottle having its mouth portion embraced by a mold preparatory to a supplemental capping operation.

the mold being illustrated partly in vertical section.

Figure 3 is a similar view illustrating the operation of forming the cap by injecting the plastic material into the mold.

Like parts are identified by the same referonce characters throughout the several views.

After the bottles A have been provided with the caps C they may be fed by a suitable conveyor or any other means to a supplemental capping machine wherein the mouth portion of each bottle is embraced by a suitable mold as shown in Figure 2. The mold may be formed in sections or members 10 and 11 which may be adjusted about the mouth piece in any suitable manner to snugly fit the neck D of the bottle immediately below the mouth piece bead B. The side walls of the mold members 10 and 11 are each provided with a concave inner surface 12 which encloses the mouth piece bead B, but is spaced therefrom. The mold may also have a cylindrical portion 13 composed of extensions which project upwardly from the side wall members 10 and 11. The inner surfaces 1st of these extension members are continuations of the concave surfaces 12, whereby plastic cap forming material, preferably fibrous, may be injected into the mold and pressed into conformity with the interior surfaces of the mold by a suitable plunger 15 adapted to fit within-the extension 13 as illustrated in Figure 3. The plastic material may thus be compressed against the cap disk C and against the exposed surfaces of the bead B in absolute conformity therewith even though the surface of the bead may be partially broken away or irregular in form. The plastic material will, of course, be'forced to flow downwardly along the concave surface 12 of the mold and inwardly to embrace the portion 1) of the bottle neck immediately below the bead B.

Ordinarily, sufficient material will be fed into the mold to completely fill the mold cavity to the junction between the cylindrical extension 13 with the side wall of the mold proper and in such cases the top of the supplemental cap will be flat and will lie in a plane wholly above the mouth of the bottle, i. e. above the bead B as shown in Figure 1. If desired, however, less cap forming material may be used, in which case the plunger may be allowed to descend to within a short distance of the cap disk C. The top portion of the supplemental cap will then have the form indicated b Y the dotted line in Figure 5 1, with the supplemental cap of substantial uniform thickness throughout its area.

The sup 'ilemental caps are preferably formed from a mixture of fibrous material such as paper pulp and water to be applied 10 in plastic form and then allowed to dry. This may be combined with a suitable adhesive or cementitious material capable 'of quickly hardening to form a rigid cap after the cap applying operation has been completed. A 15 mixture of paper pulp and any adhesive ma terial, or of paper pulp and sulphate of lime (plaster of Paris) may be employed for this 1')lll'I)O 9. The fibrous material prevents fracture of the supplen'iental caps under ordinary 9o conditions of handling, "transportation by highway vehicles, and delivery. Such caps also serve to cushion the tops or mouths of the bottle and prevent them from breaking when a bottle or other object is carelessly or accidentally swung or thrown adjacent them, this having heretofore been a frequent cause of breakage among crated bottles.

By usin; an adhesive material which may be. used in liquid or semiliqui(l form at tem- 12') peralures which will not raise the tempera" ture of the glass in a manner to cause fractures thereof, l avoid the losses which result from the use of melted wax or similar materials which liqucl'y only when heated. Vhere the mixture consists merely of paper pulp and water. the material should be firmly compressed and then allowed to dry before subjecting the. bottles to further handling.

1 claim:

, 1. he method of capping bottles which consists in inserting a cap disk within the mouthpiece of the bottle at a substantial distanee below its upper margin, forming a moulding cavity above the mouthpiece of the bottle extending outwardly, downwardly and inwardly about said mouthpiece. inserting plastic material capable of solidification into said cavity and applying pressure thereto in the space above the inserted cap disk to force the material downwardly upon said cap and over the exterior surfaces of the mouthpiece.

Q. The method of capping bottles which consists in inserting a cap disk within the bottle mouthpiece. applying a body of plastic material capable of solidification to the top of the mouthpiece and applying pressure thereto above the cap while guiding the material under pressure over the outer surfaces of the mouthpiece to substantially completely 00 enclose the same, and then allowing said material to solidify.

ADO LPII J. LIPPOLD. 

